Death of a popular song (Tim Finn)

Tim Finn - Say It Is S0 (1999) **** 

Nominated by: Kevy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Underwater Mountain

I was shocked to see so many albums of Tim's on Spotify that I had never heard, or was even aware of their existence. He was definitely flying under my radar, but not only mine I suspect.

This is one such. It's good. Not a great Tim Finn album, but a good one.

Like so many of his albums he leads off with an instant success. Underwater Mountain maintains the tradition brilliantly. It seems effortless to him - creating these kinds of commercially vibrant songs.

I like many things about this album and if he sounds like this in concert on Saturday night I'll be well pleased. He sings well, he's a great NZ vocalist so no surprise there. His voice is starting to sound more lived in but he's getting on a bit now. Still great though.

Currents is another brilliant song, effortless again and kind of thrown in mid album like - meh, I can toss these songs off no problem mate. Similarly Death Of A Popular Song. Last song, Rest, is also a beauty - maybe even the best song on the album. It certainly climaxes the album and it really must have seemed an obvious closer as they recorded the songs. 

The album is just right length wise - not too long, not too short.

Only song I skipped after the first listen was Good Together. I don't think this type of smug type of song works for Tim, and I just found it kind of annoying - personal taste I guess.

A very pleasant surprise Kev! Loved it! On to the concert!!

The cry of the earth

Tim Finn & Phil Manzanera - Caught By The Heart (2021) ***

Nominated by: Kev

Music club: WTWMC

Playlist addition:  The Cry Of The Earth

First up thanks for picking this, Kevy. I had had a listen when it first came out - just the one, I think, and moved on. Great to linger on it and give it a fair go this week.

As you both know I've had a catch-up binge of late with Tim's solo material. I also have some Phil Manzanera/801 stuff (Tim appears on backing vocals at times) and I really like his progressive rock stuff. Never much of a Roxy Music fan but I have their Greatest Hits CD. So, when I saw this out, I had a listen.

Second up - declaring this now: there are tracks on the album that I love, and there are tracks I really don't like. I found it a polarising album.  

Third up - I have a quote by psychologist and author Adam Grant in my head. I came across it this week (and put on my Jewels For The Thirsty blog):

"Criticizing is easy and fast. Creating is difficult and slow. The two hours you spent on a book or movie usually took two years to produce. Anyone can tear down someone else’s work. The true test of insight is whether you can help them improve it or build something of your own."

With all that in mind let's get into it shall we?

The obvious stand out for me is the music - for the most part it is superb. I don't know who plays it but I'm guessing it's mostly Phil (no liner notes on Spotify). I do love the prog rock elements more than the mambo/salsa moves though.

The songs I loved - Caught by the Heart, The Cry of the Earth.

The songs I didn't love - Mambo Salsa etc, La Ruleta (guitar by Phil on this - electric and bass remain great though), Bajo.

The song I loved and didn't love (that polarising thing I mentioned) - La Musica - music and Tim when he actually sings are great elements and at 6 mins they stretch it out to make a fitting final track. Love that guitar wig out!

What puts me off is the close microphoned Tim spoken vocal style on some tracks and the kiwi accent speaking Spanish - Ricco Suave style. I don't want to over analyse it (that quote above) or knock it especially but it often breaks the fourth wall for me (that conceptual barrier between the singer and the listener) and I am aware of the craft rather than enjoying the moment - it breaks my suspension of disbelief. Tricky to explain.

I also struggled to get beyond the idea that it sounds like Phil wrote and performed the music in the UK and emailed it to Tim in NZ for him to add vocals - although the music is really well produced, the combo sometimes sounds disjointed to me.

I suspect the album will get rave reviews, but for me it's a challenging listen. 

My recommendation to improve the experience - get everyone together in a studio (apologies if I've got this wildly wrong and they were - smiley face) and aim for a more organic experience. Plus don't let Tim get so close to the mic boys and have the female singer do the Spanish bits.

All up though there were many musical moments I genuinely enjoyed - Malecon's guitar, Bajo's guitar, trumpets and guitar on Galleon, that superb end to the final track so I'm giving this a *** review.